Peter ter Kulve has been appointed the CEO of the Magnum Ice Cream Company, Unilever’s demerged ice cream business

(The Magnum Ice Cream Company)

Unilever has appointed a new CEO for its demerged ice-cream business

Mangum CEO announced

• Peter ter Kulve was announced as the CEO of the Magnum Ice Cream Company on Thursday
• He is a Unilever veteran who has worked in the company’s ice-cream division since 1988
• He also helped create its Health and Wellness division, which is now worth €1 billion
• TMICC will be officially demerged in Q4 of this year

The Magnum Ice Cream Company (TMICC), Unilever’s spun-off ice-cream business, finally has a CEO.

But who is Peter ter Kulve, and how does his previous experience prepare him for the role?

Who is Peter ter Kulve?

Peter ter Kulve’s appointment as CEO was announced on Thursday, alongside Abhijit Bhattacharya as CFO. These announcements came as Unilever announced its Q2 results.

Kulve is a veteran of Unilever ice cream. Joining Unilever in 1988 as a marketeer for the ice cream division, he made his way up the ranks to head up the entire ice-cream business before its demerger.

Between these two points in his career, he worked as CEO of Wall’s China, business group president of home care, president of southeast Asia and Australasia, and chief digital and growth officer.

As executive vice president of the global ice cream category, he expanded into developing markets and integrated it into North America, helped roll out Ben and Jerry’s in Europe, and globalised Magnum.

He also played a role in creating Unilever’s health and wellbeing sector, which focuses on vitamins, minerals and supplements.

The segment is now worth more than €1 billion, which, he points out, would make it a unicorn if it were a separate company.

Outside of Unilever, ter Kulve has run 42 marathons, and is now training for his 43rd.

What’s the future for ice cream?

In March last year, Unilever announced that it was spinning off its ice cream business.

Since then, new details of what exactly this would entail have begun to emerge.

Around a month ago, the Magnum Ice Cream Company officially began to operate as a stand-alone business. This precedes the full demerger, which is due to take place in Q4 of this year, when Unilever will report ice-cream as a discontinued operation.

The company includes Unilever’s classic ice-cream brands such as Ben and Jerry’s, Wall’s and Magnum.

It will have its headquarters in the Netherlands, with shares in Amsterdam, London and New York.